Hsbc Sees Limited Valuation Attraction Among Nordic Non: life insurance, names Sampo top pick

Sampo

12/01/2022 08:41

** There are some high quality, defensive names among the
Nordic non-life insurance players, HSBC says, but the valuation
attraction is limited
    ** The Nordics benefit from high and stable RoEs, the
brokerage says, seeing limited risk to the robust demand and
strong retentions 
    ** It expects modest competitive pressure from smaller
players in 2022
    ** However, when not considering the impact of corporate
actions and one-offs, the Nordic sector is not particularly
attractive from a dividend yield perspective, it points out
    ** "However, it is important not to be too negative," HSBC
says, as a more uncertain backdrop favours quality, defensive
names and a slew of one-offs will prop up yields, it adds
    ** HSBC downgrades Tryg  TRYG.CO  to "hold" from "buy" on
valuation grounds
    ** The broker keeps its "buy" rating on Sampo  SAMPO.HE ,
considering it a top pick in the sub-sector and expecting the
company to narrow its discount to Nordic peers
    ** It maintains "hold" on Gjensidige  GJES.OL  and
Topdanmark  TOP.CO , expecting the latter to surprise on
dividend
    

 (Reporting by Marta Frackowiak)
 ((marta.frackowiak@thomsonreuters.com))